Download Management of Infectious disease outbreaks in animal populations

A new short course by distance learning
Management of Infectious
Disease Outbreaks in
Animal Populations
Academic direction by:
Influenza virus:
This course is designed
to provide you with both
comprehensive theoretical
knowledge and practical tools
for the management of major
infectious diseases in livestock.
Infectious diseases of livestock are no
longer only the domain of farming
communities and the veterinary
profession. Many of the infectious
diseases that affect livestock are of the
epidemic type and tend to have rapid
and explosive spread. The impact of
these diseases is felt not only in their
effect on the animal (sickness and
sometimes death), but also as the
consequent loss of productivity and
reduced farm income, the economic
losses from curtailed international
trade in live animals and their
products, and often the effect they
have on people who may become
infected with zoonotic diseases.
We are now living in an increasingly
interconnected world with high levels
of national and international population
movements and changing climatic
conditions; episodes of emerging and
re-emerging diseases are a consequence
of these global changes that the world
has to contend with. The appearance of
diseases such as West Nile virus in the
USA and Bluetongue in the UK illustrates
the ease with which disease agents
can move to new geographic locations
and establish themselves. Rift Valley
fever reappeared in Kenya in 2006/2007,
leaving close to 100 people dead and
others infected. The re-emergence of the
disease was attributed to unexpected
heavy rainfall that caused flooding
and created breeding grounds for
mosquitoes which spread the virus of the
fever from infected livestock to humans.
The effective control and
management of infectious livestock
diseases depends to a large extent
on an understanding of the
epidemiology of the disease. Also
important is an understanding of
the interplay between agent, host
and environment, in developing
interventions to control outbreaks of
these infectious diseases and strategies
to eradicate their causal pathogens.
Surveillance for early recognition of
disease problems, effective responses
to prevent the spread of the disease
and reliable predictive capabilities
are all essential in the management
of infectious disease outbreaks.
What will you learn
from this course?
By the end of this course
you should be able to:
n describe the epidemiological
concept of disease transmission
and related factors, and explain
the epidemiological aspects of
the relationship between host,
agent and the environment
n explain the role of economic analysis
in animal health management
n describe monitoring and
surveillance approaches
n outline measures needed to
prevent the introduction of
a disease into a country
n make recommendations on
the most appropriate control
methods for different diseases
n identify the highest-threat emergency
animal diseases for your country,
know where those threats are likely
to come from and recognize how
they will manifest themselves.
Study time
The entire course, including revision
and examination, is designed to
take approximately 240 hours to
complete. This is only an estimate
and will depend upon your previous
familiarity with the subject.
The individual unit topics are:
Unit 1 Viral Agents and Disease Processes
Unit 2Epidemiology
Unit 3 Risk Analysis and Economics in
Disease Control
Unit 4 Detection of Disease: Surveillance
and Diagnosis
Unit 5 Prevention of Disease and Response
to Disease
Unit 6 Control of Infectious Viral Diseases
Unit 7 Emergency Preparedness and
Contingency Planning
Unit 8 Managing an Outbreak of a Previously
Unknown Disease
Unit 9 Foot and Mouth Disease
Unit 10 Managing Acute Infections in a
High-Density Avian Population
Unit 11 West Nile Virus
Assessment
Your work for this course will be assessed
by means of a three-hour unseen
written examination paper which
will take the form of essay questions.
In addition, you must submit at least
one (and you may submit a maximum
of three) Tutor Marked Assignments
(TMA’s). The grade awarded will be
based on the mark obtained in the
written examination (80%) and on the
mark for the compulsory TMA (20%).
Flexibility to study wherever,
whenever and however you like
As this course is offered by distance
learning, you can fit your study
around your family or professional
commitments. You may decide to do
this short course on its own for interest
or professional development. Or, it is also
offered as an optional module within
our distance learning MSc/Postgraduate
Diploma programme in Livestock
Health and Production and Veterinary
Epidemiology and Public Health.